Not counting DG, only four characters are referred to on screen by the same (or similar) names to their analogous characters in the original book and The Wizard of Oz: Toto, Police Officer Gulch (a reference to Miss Gulch, a character in the 1939 film), The Grey Gale, and Wyatt Cain. Cain is called "tin man" several times by other characters, most notably Glitch when he says, "Have a heart, tin man".

During the dream sequence, DG is asked if she's been having dreams again, and she says, "Yeah, in Technicolor." The Technicolor process made the intense colors of the original movie possible.

The house number of DG's Kansas home is 39, the same year the original The Wizard of Oz came out as a film. You see this briefly in the start of the storm scene

Dorothy Gale is referred to as the first in the royal bloodline. In the original books by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy was declared a princess of Oz and adopted as a sister by the ruler Ozma.

The character "Ahamo - The Seeker" explains he is originally from Nebraska. The name "Ahamo" spelled backwards is "Omaha", the largest city in Nebraska. Also, in The Wizard of Oz, the Wizard had come to Oz from Omaha.

In the original The Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow points in many directions when Dorothy asks the way to Emerald City. In Tin Man, Air-of-Day points in all directions when telling the travelers where to find the Seeker. Glitch, who represents the Scarecrow, responds "And you thought I had trouble with directions!"

This film broke the Sci-Fi Channel's records by being the highest-rated television event in the network's history.

Glitch makes a reference to not liking scarecrows, a reference to that character's original version.

One of the hallmarks of The Wizard of Oz version of the novel was the way it transitioned from black-and-white, during the framing Kansas portions, to brilliant color in the Oz portions. This film is all in color, except when it shifts into black-and-white during the tomb sequence.

The kilts worn by the men of the resistance, with their elaborate pleats and beveled rivets, are Workman-model Utilikilts, manufactured in Seattle, Washington, USA, and available for widespread sale.